glories

Legos are a fine example of how something extraordinary may be made to seem simple, even obvious.  Legos are to toys as Mark Twain is to tall tales: unsurpassed.  The blocks are a marvel of geometry, their interlocking, exact proportions are a joy to think through and graph out.  Their manufacture is precise, and of just the right formula of plastic: from a single material is achieved the correct function, form and color, with durability.  This is a beautiful achievement: there are no gaskets, coatings or paint.  That, only the right plastic could manage, an example of synthetic material that is the opposite of cheap.  The right form and the right material give Legos their wonderful snap/unsnap quality, which is satisfying to feel and hear, giving a sensation of creative construction backed by soundness.  A construction of Legos, unlike blocks, holds fast.  They therefore invite engrossment: a sustained investment of a child's playful effort.  Their play value is unsurpassed. 

There is nothing showy about a bucket of Legos, but everything worthy.  Naturally many of the themes and sets and so on devolve to ordinary toy silliness, but I can think of no better toy than a big bucket of ordinary Lego bricks.  Det bedste er ikke for godt.